Let me start off by saying that I seriously have the best job (and husband!) in the entire world. Helping laboring moms in one of the most vulnerable and exciting times of their lives and witnessing a person take their first breath is truly amazing and way more of a privilege than it is a job. With that being said, I work night shift and being on night shift and trying to figure out how to sleep during the day one day, then function during the day the next has been is still a huge challenge. I so wish I was one of those people who could get a couple hours of sleep and then be up and ready to go for the rest of the day, but that it not, has not, and never will be me. I am a big baby and need at least 8 hours of sleep to really function. I try to do my three nights in a row in an attempt to have a regular circadian rhythm for at least half of the week, but even still I struggle. Adjusting to the actual night shift isn’t that hard…everyone knows that between the bright lights and constant bustle no body actually gets sleep in a hospital *smiling through my teeth*. It’s that fourth (and fifth and sixth) day when I have to adjust back to the real world where people stay awake during the day and sleep at night that’s difficult. No matter how tired I am after coming off night shift, when it’s finally time for bed I’m typically wide awake until 3 and sometimes 5am. This wouldn’t be a problem if I could sleep until noonish the next day, but having a toddler who is up and ready to go at 7am makes this a reaaaal struggle. Steve, being the wonderful guy that he is, gets up with Evelyn pretty much every morning before he goes to work so that I can sleep in an extra hour or so. And even on weekends when he should be able to take a break he still selflessly gets up with her and lets me sleep in. Those couple extra hours of sleep are invaluable and make all the difference in helping me be the kind of mom and wife I want to be.

On top of that Steve often cooks dinner for me before I go into work. I really don’t likehate to cook. I don’t like all the effort it takes finding recipes, going to the store to get ingredients that I’ll only use once or twice before they go bad, all the preparation and energy it takes to cook, the clean up, and then add our little angel Hurricane Evelyn to that mix and I’m dreading it just imagining it. Please swim at your own risk in the river I just cried for you, but I would much rather have food delivered to my door or go out and enjoy the company and ambience at a restaurant where I can leave the dishes for someone else. Or just live off of bread and wine for the rest of my life, that’d be okay too. At the same time I would also like to save money (and calories!) and enjoy sit down dinners at home as a family. Rock star Steve comes home from work and cooks while I enjoy a little more time with Evelyn so that we can do just that. Serious rock star status.

It’s also incredibly hard to be parents when none of your best friends are (like really, really hard), but Steve never complains, happily puts us first, and encourages me when it gets to me. He helps me with the million tasks I have in my mind that I believe “need” to get done before we go somewhere in an attempt to help us get out the door on time. He thinks my lame jokes are funny and sometimes even outdoes me in that department. He is thoughtful and creative and can make Evelyn laugh harder than anyone else can. He just all around rocks.

Steve you are amazing and I wouldn’t want to and can’t imagine doing life without you. Thank you for making my life easier and making it overflow with laughter.